Green Flash truckin' along

I remember the day I first met Dave Adams. At the time, he was working to meld the wide-ranging array of beers at Churchill’s Pub & Grille with the venue’s evolving cuisine. Within five minutes of talking with him, I knew I was in the midst of someone bit by the epicurean bug. Someone who’d been bit hard! (Hey, takes one to know one, right?) He talked food and beer with me for hours that night, and that conversation has continued over the span of four years.

Nowadays, installments of this discourse take place at Green Flash Brewing Company, where he serves as director of beer education. It sounds like a professorial title, and he does educate via edible and quaffable fare, but he does more than orate or talk-up visitors to the fast-growing brewery. He goes the extra mile, collaborating with chefs at all levels, from white linen restaurants to casual comfort food joints to Baja gastro-pioneers and food truck cooks. It’s his work and successes in pairing beers with the latter segment that are fueling the invention of Green Flash Gastro, a brewery-owned food truck the company will debut in February.

Adams will work with newly hired chef Hector Mendoza to develop rotating menus pulling from both of their culinary and cultural backgrounds, with Green Flash’s beer at the forefront as far as flavor pairability. Green Flash Gastro will serve as the ever-present food option for tasting room visitors, being parked near the outdoor patio whenever the venue is open for business. This will mean that the many food trucks that have rotated in and out of Green Flash’s parking lot will no longer be needed. Having worked closely with many of their owners and chefs, Adams is sad to see them go, but also excited about the next chapter.

Sample dishes from the Green Flash Gastro menu include pork belly bahn mi, a braised short rib sandwich, and chicken wings, as well as charcuterie and cheese boards. All condiments and accoutrements will be made in-house (in-truck?). For the most part, the bill of fare will contain dishes that are homey and comforting in nature. The menu will be available online as well as via social media by searching #greenflashgastro.